Minimising packaging

Why is it important?

• Packaging accounts for 21 per cent of household waste which represents about 2 per cent by weight and volume of landfill waste (source: DEFRA).
• 62 per cent of used packaging was recycled in 2009 (source: DEFRA).
• Packaging is essential to maintain product integrity and safety.
• Packaging is a significant part of the municipal (domestic) solid waste that we want to reduce.
• We place over 130,000 tonnes of packaging on the market each year.
• Product packaging is an issue that particularly concerns our customers.
• As well as recycling our own waste, we also have a legal obligation to recycle a proportion of the waste our customers take home.
    
  

Targets and performance

Although product packaging represents only about 2 per cent by weight and volume of landfill waste, the Partnership is committed to phasing out packaging waste growth and has set a target to reduce own brand packaging on a like for like basis. We are focussed on delivering improvements in both Waitrose and John Lewis, although Waitrose represents over 85 per cent of the Partnership's 130,000 tonnes of packaging.

We have set a number of targets to reduce the impact of our packaging:

Waitrose:

• Reduce own-brand packaging by 2013 on a like-for-like basis, compared with 2005, and work with suppliers to encourage similar reductions.

• Apply packaging recyclability labelling to own-brand products.

• Waitrose is also a signatory to the Courtauld Commitment.

John Lewis:

• Reduce own-brand packaging on a like-for-like basis, delivering 75 new examples of 'light weighting' in 2011.

• Ensure all paper and card own-brand packaging can be recycled and is made from a recycled or sustainable source.

• Reduce the use of own-brand plastic packaging material and eliminate the use of non-recyclable* plastics.

* as defined by on-pack recycling label scheme. 

In 2010-11, Waitrose audited its own-brand packaging to understand how to further reduce packaging without compromising product quality or shelf life. We completed 20 projects, with one example being our new meat flow-wrap packs, which use  significantly less material and have a lower carbon impact. Packaging recyclability is now added to all own-brand products. Meanwhile in John Lewis 100 product packaging light-weighting projects were completed including removing plastic and polystyrene from eight lines of toys, reducing the card backing used for 30 lines of Cookshop products and reducing the plastic used for 30 lines of curtain poles.

View our packaging data.

View our progress against our commitments and targets.

Key initiatives

The Courtauld Commitment

Waitrose is a signatory of the Courtauld Commitment, which was launched in July 2005 by the Government-funded Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP). By signing up to the second phase of the Courtauld Commitment with other leading retailers in March 2010, Waitrose made a public commitment to help collectively achieve a 10 per cent reduction in the carbon impact of grocery packaging, a 4 per cent reduction for household food and waste and a 5 per cent reduction for product and packaging waste in the supply chain.

For more information see www.wrap.org.uk.

Biodegradable packaging

We continually explore the environmental and technical feasibility of alternative materials, such as biodegradable packaging.  Waitrose is piloting both biodegradable and compostable packaging for our organic range of pre-packed fruit and vegetables. Through these and similar trials, we can monitor the technical performance of biodegradable materials. However, we do have concerns about a complete conversion to biodegradable sources: because there are still few industrial and publicly accessible composting facilities available, the vast majority of biodegradable packaging will be disposed of to landfill for the foreseeable future.

Recycling packaging

Research has shown that consumers are frustrated by not knowing what packaging can be recycled, and they are keen to see clear on-pack guidance. To this end, we worked with Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and other retailers to agree standardised recycling labelling for packaging. As a result, Waitrose and John Lewis joined the UK-wide On-Pack Recycling Label scheme (www.onpackrecyclinglabel.org) launched by the BRC and supported by WRAP, which aims to increase household recycling rates through standardised messaging for consumers. This voluntary initiative aims to replace the current array of recycling symbols and messages with three core messages, namely the packaging component, material type and recyclability status indicating whether the packaging is:

• 'widely recycled' - recycled by over 65% of local authorities,

• 'check locally' - recycled by 20 - 65% of local authorities,

• 'not currently recycled' - recycled by under 20% of local authorities.

In consumer tests, customers found the new labels easy to understand, and both Waitrose and John Lewis have been phasing them in as and when new packaging is introduced and reviewed. The category thresholds will be reviewed annually by WRAP, and it is expected that many packaging components will change categories as local recycling facilities improve.

For more information on how we're helping customers recycle, see waste and recycling.

Find out more about the UK's waste strategies (www.complydirect.com/the-recycling-room/national-waste-strategies).

Carrier bags

Although carrier bags represent only a small percentage of the product packaging we handle, we are keen to reduce usage by offering environmentally responsible alternatives to our customers.

For more information on how we're helping customers reduce the number of plastic carrier bags they use, see our views on carrier bags.

Our plans/key priorities

• Continue to reduce the weight and environmental impact of our product packaging.

• As a signatory, Waitrose needs to demonstrate how it is acting on the Courtauld Commitment.